How Online Reviews Can Destroy A Physician’s Life
In the good old days, patients asked friends and family members about a doctor’s reputation. Those days are long gone. Today, over 70% of your patients will Google your name before ever calling in to make an appointment. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Well, it really depends on the doctor’s online reputation. Few doctors love it. Most doctors hate it. Why? According to EverTrust MD, “There is an incredible selection bias when it comes to online reviews. The truth is, happy and satisfied patients aren’t motivated enough to go through the hassle of leaving online reviews. On the flip side, unhappy patients are highly motivated to tear apart a physician’s online reputation.”
The result is quite obvious. You may be treating hundreds of happy and satisfied patients but your online reputation doesn’t reflect that at all. Why? Simply because those happy patients never bothered leaving an online review. However, if you even slightly upset the wrong patient, you can definitely expect them to leave a negative review and completely destroy your online reputation.
The solution? Unless you are an internet whiz, you’d probably want someone else to handle this for you. One company that comes to mind is EverTrust MD. They’re probably the #1 agency when it comes to online reputation management for doctors. EverTrust MD has successfully helped hundreds of physicians significantly enhance and repair their online reputation quickly. And, unlike most companies, EverTrust MD exclusively works with only physicians and doctors and will provide you with a free consultation.
Unfortunately, getting even a few negative reviews can cause potential patients to avoid your practice like the plague. If you’re practice isn’t as busy as it should be and if you aren’t getting as many patient appointments as you should be – there’s a very high probability that your online reputation has been destroyed. And, just so you know, not having enough positive reviews or a solid web presence is almost as bad as having lots of negative reviews. Why? Because patients still see that as a bad thing, which is what matters.
So what other options do you have besides contacting a company like EverTrust MD? Other options include reaching out to patients who’ve had a bad experience, but the chances of that actually making a meaningful impact are slim to none. Not only that, the amount of time, effort, and energy required to contact every single patient are tremendous. On the flip side, working with an agency like EverTrust MD that does all the work for you without you lifting a finger sounds like a better use of a doctor’s time.
No matter what you do, don’t ignore this problem. Time can only make it worse. The last thing you want is a terrible online reputation with a blank appointment schedule and a deserted practice.
